BACK TO THE BASICS - CHURCH ORGANIZATION Introduction I. On a college campus, they organized the infirmary to better handle all of the students who came in with medical problems. A college student who stubbed his toe went to the infirmary for some help. He entered the infirmary and found himself in an empty room with two doors. One was marked "illness" and the other was marked "trauma." He considered his stubbed toe a trauma so he chose that door. He found himself in yet another room with two doors. One was marked "internal" and the other was marked "external." His problem was external so he went through that door. He found himself in yet another room with two more doors. One of the doors was marked "serious" and the other was marked "minor." His problem was minor, so he walked through that door, and found himself back on the campus! A. Sometimes we are so caught up with our organization that we miss the opportunities to minister to those who have stubbed their toes in life. II. The Lord has organized His church in the simplest conceivable way, yet the strongest, and most durable way. A. Civilizations have come and gone. B. Social orders have flourished and vanished. C. But the church of our Lord still endures. III. Sadly, many have been tampering with the organization of the church. A. The apostasy from apostolic Christianity began as early as the 2nd century. B. In no way was this departure more evident than changes in church organization (Acts 20:29-30). C. And we have all seen the results of this departure in the religious world. IV. We should want to know how the Lord wants the church to be organized. A. Each congregation must be following the divine pattern found in the Bible. V. In this lesson, we will look at congregational authority, congregational autonomy, and congregational organization. Body I. CONGREGATIONAL AUTHORITY. A. The supreme ruler over the church is Jesus Christ (Col 1:18). 1. He became head of His church after His resurrection from the dead (Eph 1:20-23). a. He has never relinquished His headship to anyone. b. He has never surrendered His authority to anyone. c. He has no vicar on earth, no one rules in His stead B. The Lord's church is therefore a monocrotic theocracy. 1. Christ is our law giver (James 4:12). a. This is His legislative function. 2. Christ is our king (Rev 19:16). a. This is His executive function. 3. Christ is our judge (John 5:22). a. This is His judicial function. (1) Jesus has the power to make the law. (2) Jesus has the power to execute the law. (3) Jesus has the power to enforce the law (Isa 33:22). C. The churches of Christ are bound by the divine word to recognize Jesus Christ as the supreme authority in religion and to follow the teachings of Jesus and His divinely commissioned apostles in all that it does, both in precept and practice. 1. The apostles were equipped by the Holy Spirit and authorized by Christ to bring the church into existence and to personally nurture it until the will of Christ was completely revealed and recorded (2 Cor 5:20). 2. Prophets were temporary workers whom Christ gave gifts of the spirit for the guidance, government, protecting and instructing of the congregations (Eph 4:8-13). a. The apostles all died near the end of the 1st century. b. Miraculous gifts have ceased, thus we have no prophets today. 3. The Lord ordained no conventions, synods, nor ecclesiastical assemblies to govern His church. D. The churches of Christ have no earthly headquarters. 1. The headquarters is in heaven where the Head of the church is (Col 3:1). II. CONGREGATIONAL AUTONOMY. A. Autonomy is defined as: "Independent in government, self-governing"; "the right to attend to your own business." 1. It is composed of 2 Greek words: "Auto" - self and "Nomos" - law, thus "self- law, self-governing, self-rule." 2. Each local congregation has the right under God to decide what expediences it will employ in executing God's law. 3. Each local congregation is at liberty to function in harmony with the King's law in reference to everything the law authorizes it to do. B. In the 1st century, each congregation was completely independent, subject only to Jesus as the head of the church. 1. Elders in each church oversaw the work of that congregation. 2. There was no hierarchy with authority over the local church. C. This does not mean that there was a lack of fellowship and cooperation among congregations. 1. Local congregations may cooperate as long as their autonomy is maintained. >> CHURCH AT JERUSALEM and CHURCH AT ANTIOCH COOPERATED << a. Churches may cooperate in areas of evangelism (Acts 11:21-22). b. Churches may cooperate in benevolence (Acts 11:29-30). c. Churches may cooperate in edification (Acts 11:23). D. The autonomy of the local congregation is a wise arrangement. 1. It promotes peace, provides authority, and prevents universal apostasy. III. CONGREGATIONAL ORGANIZATION. A. The church is spoke of in 2 senses in the N.T. - UNIVERSALLY and LOCALLY. 1. Universally, the church of our Lord has no earthly organization. a. There is no head of the church on earth. b. It's organization began and ends with Christ as the universal head. 2. Locally, the Lord has organized his church. a. Christ has delegated authority in the management of the local congregation to the elders. (1) There is a plurality of elders in every congregation (Acts 14:23). (2) The qualifications for these men are described in 1 Tim 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9). (a) The elders lead, guide, oversee, rule and direct, and all the members are in subjection to them. b. The church of Christ also has a special group of men called deacons. (1) They serve under the direction of the elders. (2) Their qualifications are given in 1 Tim 3:8-13. c. The church of Christ also has men known as: (1) Preachers (1 Tim 2:7). (2) Ministers (1 Tim 4:6). (3) Evangelists (2 Tim 4:5). (a) They likewise serve under the direction of the elders of the local congregation. B. Jesus plan of organization is adequate. 1. This simple organization was adequate to take care of every responsibility and challenge the early church had. a. Local benevolent needs (Ax 6:1f). b. Away-from-home benevolent needs. c. Evangelistic needs (Mt 28). d. Educational needs (2 Tim 2:15). e. Growth needs (2 Pet 3:18). f. Restoration needs (Gal 6:2). C. The sole unit of organization in the church of Christ is the local congregation. 1. Anything larger than, smaller than, or other than this is a failure to preserve the distinctive nature of N.T. church organization. 2. The divine wisdom of God was demonstrated in making each local church self-governing under Christ (Phil 1:1). 3. God has not authorized synods, general assemblies, councils, or conferences to rule his church. Conclusion I. We have examined congregational authority, autonomy, and organization. II. We must be members of the church that is divinely organized. A. Let us never tamper with God's organization. B. You too can be a member of the Lord's church. ** If you have any questions or if you would like to become a Christian, please let us know. Alan C. Cole 26th St. Church of Christ 101-26th Street Huntington, WV 25703 Phone - (304) 522-0717 E-Mail - Cole8@marshall.edu Homepage - http://mupfc.marshall.edu/~cole8/